With fraud running rampant throughout the various fields of autograph collecting, I often wondered why unscrupulous dealers were allowed to thrive without running the risk of becoming entangled with law enforcement officials.  The answer to my own question was soon forthcoming when I became a victim of fraud.

When I couldn't get satisfaction from the dealer (Autographs America) who sold me LP's with "forged" signatures, I turned to the FBI and filed a complaint with their internet fraud division. Their reply was disheartening, to say the least  Unless I suffered a loss of $1,000,000 or more, they wouldn't waste valuable recourses in investigating this company.  Now I understood why these type of dealers were allowed to operate without consequence...and it can't be allowed to continue!  Since law enforcement won't do anything about this, I will!

With your help, I'm beginning a campaign to force our legislative government in Washington, D.C. to take a pro-active approach by introducing a bill that will make it unappealing for unscrupulous dealers to take advantage of an unsuspecting public.  Some of the items that I would like to see included in this bill are as follows...

1.  All dealers in autographed memorabilia MUST provide verifiable, documented proof that every signature(s) they sell is "authentic".

2.  That every purchaser of said memorabilia be given 90 days from the original date a purchase to request a full refund if said merchandise proves to be "fraudulent".

3.  If said merchandise IS proven to be "fraudulent", the dealer is required to refund "twice the total purchase price", plus shipping and handling, to the purchaser.

4.  Any memorabilia  obtained by dealers, for sale or re-sale, prior to the enactment of this legislation would not be required to have verifiable, documented proof of "authenticity" but will still fall under the  refund policy of "twice the full purchase price" should it be determined that said merchandise is found to be "fraudulent".

5.  That a Commission be created to handle disputes between dealers and their customers. Highly qualified individuals, from each field of interest (sports, entertainment, celebrity, literature, history, ect) will make up the Commission...and their decision is binding on both parties of the dispute.

I'd like to make this bill free of as many legal loopholes as possible.  I understand that this wouldn't totally eliminate fraud but it sure would cut down on the amount of "fakes" in circulation and drive the "bad" dealers out of business.

What I would like everyone to do is e-mail me any experience that they may have had with scam dealers, along with any comment that they would like to make about this subject.  When I've acquired enough material, I will submit it all to my State Representative and push HARD to get legislation introduced...and passed.  Any other ideas on what you would like to see included in this bill would be greatly appreciated.   I created a special e-mail address for just this purpose alone.  It's..."glpt@gmail.com".  Let's deprive these unscrupulous dealers of any more illegal income and bring back some respect to this area of interest.

Sincerely,

Gerald Poet